Folding cold laundry

that has been sitting in the dryer in my unheated laundry room all day is not nearly as enjoyable as pulling loads of freshly dried towels, warm fleece pullovers, and toasty socks from said dryer. I almost re-ran the cold load to 'shake off the chill', but I had an even colder load of washed clothes waiting to go into the dryer.

30 minutes, and I can pull something warmie (as my children say). Laundry bliss.

Books Read in November, and my December Reading List

I'm feeling the sci-fi kick beginning to wane, and a domestic literature kick coming on. Maybe it's because we've had our first freezing temperatures of the fall/winter season, or because it *snowed* here last week, but I'm feeling like cozying up under a quilt and reading about baking, sewing, and knitting sounds better than time/space travel, scientific invention, and hard-to-fathom scenarios.

In November I read:

Fire, Kristin Cashore (review here)
The Duggars: 20 and Counting (to be reviewed shortly)
Animal Farm, George Orwell
The Canadian West Series, Janette Oke
The Calling of Emily Evans, Janette Oke
The Twilight Series...again, Stephanie Meyer (I re-read this before going to see New Moon, and I have this thing about having to finish a series if I decide to read a book in it again. I can start anywhere in the middle and be ok, but I feel compelled to finish the works after whatever I started.)

For December, Christmas Reading by Grace Livingston Hill:

Brentwood
The Prodigal Girl
Partners
The Gold Shoe
Astra
The Substitute Guest
The Christmas Bride

Cooking Without a Kitchen

Alright, the post title is a little misleading. I do have a kitchen, but my stovetop and oven have been on the blink for about a month now, and I'm faring just fine. The reason I chose 'Cooking Without a Kitchen' as the post title is because if I found myself without a kitchen entirely, if I had what I have now, I'd still be ok.

The first week I used just my crock-pot, microwave, and gas grill. I could cook pretty much anything I normally did, but I couldn't bake. If I kept my grill turned to low and watched it pretty carefully, I could even roast things like chickens and pork loins, using a roasting pan. As a matter of fact, if I had to I could get by for a long time cooking with just my grill and crock-pot, although a microwave does come in handy for boiling water, making grits and oatmeal in the mornings, and re-heating leftovers.

While I was talking to my grandmother on the phone one day, I casually mentioned that I was sans cooking appliances at the moment, and she immediately offered me the use of an electric skillet and a toaster oven. She said she only uses her electric skillet once a year, and the toaster oven was a gift she had never opened, but left sitting in the back of her cabinets for years.

Now with the toaster oven, I can not only toast things, but also bake and broil on a small scale. I can make cookies, muffins, and breads, as long as I make smaller batches and prepare for the longer cooking times. For a family of seven, only being able to bake six cookies in a batch at a time might seem like a pain, but it's better than no cookies at all.

The electric skillet deserves it's own post, it's so wonderful! I can do things with it that I could never do with my stove, even when it was performing at it's best. I can scramble a dozen eggs in less than 5 minutes, or fry several in that time. I can make large batches of pancakes, grilled sandwiches, or quesadillas very quickly, and the clean up is a snap. Sauteing large amounts of veggies for a crock-pot soup is simple and quick, and I can brown over 2 lbs. of meat for a chili or tacos in the blink of an eye. Frying deer steaks (or chicken!) is quick and easy as well. Even when my stove was working properly, I didn't have the surface area big enough to cook on a massive scale like I do with an electric skillet. I probably won't give it up, even when my stove is fixed.

I've even taught myself how to cook things that are usually boiled in the skillet, like green beans, mashed potatoes, and butter beans. I just cook them how we like them, then transfer them to a serving dish that can be warmed in the microwave if necessary. I even boil and cook pasta in the electric skillet, using the microwave to warm the sauce. For steamed veggies, I use the microwave.

So, the point of this whole post is this: if you're remodeling, living in a tiny apartment, newly married, or just having one of those years where everything needs repairs at once; you can still get delicious and nutritious meals on the table three times a day. It might take a little extra effort, planning and time, but the end results will be worth it.

Oh, and no matter how frustrating it is to have to deal with extenuating circumstances, a good attitude will carry you and your family a long, long way.

Menu Plan Monday, and a quick announcement

For those of you who diligently return each Wednesday to either read or participate in WIP Wednesday; I'm sorry, but I'm going to have to put further editions on hold until after the end of this year.

I am currently in the process of making Christmas gifts, many of which I can't show here because my recipients visit. Working on these things leaves me little time for extra knitting to post, so I've decided to take a little break until January. Also, the next two weeks are filled with school and family activities. I will try to post pictures of items I've made whose recipients don't visit here, and of course there will be menu and recipe posts, and minor and major ramblings and rants from me. In January I'll be back at it, hopefully with new knitting goodies to share!

Ok, on to Menu Plan Monday. My oven and stove are still out, but I've acquired a toaster oven and an electric skillet to add to my crock-pot and microwave as cooking tools. Thanks, Mamaw! She loaned me these two items, declaring that she never used them and they were just clutter in the back of her kitchen cabinets. This is our menu for this week:

Monday- BBQ sandwiches, corn on the cob

Tuesday- Chicken Noodle Soup, biscuits

Wednesday- Pasta, salad

Thursday- Potato soup (I never know what to serve with this, besides bacon and cheese!)

Friday- Enchiladas, refried beans, Spanish rice

Saturday- Leftover Night

Sunday- Lasagna, salad, bread

For more great menu plans, check out Organizing Junkie!

WIP Wednesday: Thanksgiving Edition

I finished the back of Miss H's sweater while watching G.I. Joe: Rise of the Cobra with the kids and Mr. H. last night. I tried it on Miss H, and I think it's going to fit perfectly when it's done.

I might have to make Papa Bear his own sweater someday, to thank him for his hard work as a sweater model.

Please join me in WIP Wednesday. I would love to see what you're working on.

Free Knitting Stuff!

KnitPicks is having a wish list giveaway tomorrow! Anyone who goes here and fills up their wish list has a chance to win it all, up to $150! I just finished filling my wish list cart, and I hope they pick me!

WIP Wednesday - Veteran's Day Edition

First of all, I would like to say thank you to all the service men and woman out there in the military today, and also the veterans. My grandfather was a veteran during Korea, and both my brother and my step-sister are Marines serving currently, plus our nephew is a recent graduate from the National Guard, so we have a lot of military family, and they deserve more than a few days a year honoring the sacrifices they have made throughout history and are still making today. Thank you all for keeping us free.


Miss H did her own modeling for me this week, both because I wanted to make sure she could get the sweater on when I was finished with it, and because she's very anxious to see it completed. I started the decreases for the back armholes and shoulders Monday evening, so hopefully the rest of the back and front will go quickly, and I can move on to sleeves.

I really like knitting sweaters, especially in the round. I'm debating as to whether or not a sweater or two of my own should be in the works next.

Would you like to show of your work in progress this week? Join me!

Menu Plan Monday - No Stove or Oven Edition!

From time to time in our lives, we find ourselves facing particularly difficult or interesting challenges. This week I am facing one such challenge.

For the past few months, my oven has been unpredictable at best, and nothing but a blinking, beeping clock at worst. Then, last week, I accidentally boiled over a pot on the stovetop and there was a loud "pop", and the thing hasn't worked since. Every time I try to turn the breaker back on to it, it throws the breaker again. This has happened before, and it takes about a week or two to dry out, then it starts working again.

In the meantime, the troops must be fed, and eating dinner out every night is out of the question for a family our size. Plus I really enjoy cooking and I get bored easily with the same old thing all the time. I devised a menu based on crock-pot and microwave cooking to get us through until our appliances are back in order. I usually don't share my menus every week, because honestly, I think my meal plans are pretty boring, unless I want to showcase what you can do with a special ingredient like game meats or pumpkins. However, there may be someone out there who faces this same situation in the future, and I would like to offer help and a plan to get through it when you really just want to sit in the kitchen floor and cry.

Breakfasts for the week - Oatmeal (steel cut oats in the crock pot) x 2, Breakfast Bake, Grits, Western Omelet, Egg and Cheese Bake, Fruit Fancy, Milk, Juice, etc.

Monday - Red Beans and Rice, Cornbread (the cornbread turned out very moist, but it had no crust, so be aware)
Tuesday - Roast Chicken and Potatoes, Butter Beans (I omitted the beer in the roast chicken recipe, and roasted the potatoes with it. Butter beans were done in the microwave.)
Wednesday - Potato Soup
Thursday - Lasagne, Salad
Friday - Ham, Greens, Pralined Sweet Potatoes
Saturday - Chicken Enchiladas, Spanish Rice, Refried Beans
Sunday - Bbq Pork Sandwiches, Baked beans, Corn

I will try to get links up to all the recipes later today. Check out Organizing Junkie for more Menu Plan Monday.

Fire, by Kristin Cashore

Fire, by Kristin Cashore


I read and thoroughly enjoyed Graceling a few months ago, and I have eagerly awaiting both Fire and Bitterblue since then. I got a copy of Fire from my library about two weeks ago, brought it home, and it sat on my bookshelf while I finished C.S. Lewis's science fiction series.

Fire is another easy read, in true Kristin Cashore style, it swiftly whisks you away to a land where monsters are real, people can read minds, and no one is really who or what you think they are. The basic storyline is wonderful, and Cashore's writing style is fun to read and engaging.

A word of caution to parents about Cashore's books. They are written for young adults, but I won't be allowing my daughter to read Graceling until she's at least sixteen, and she may have to wait even longer for Fire. There is a good deal more promiscuity in Fire than there was in Graceling, and it seems that almost everyone in the book is either sleeping their way around the castle, or is an illegitimate child. Graceling just barely touched on unmarried sex, but Fire dives right in. Cashore has dealt with this issue as delicately as possible, but it doesn't seem to add much to the storyline to me. Also, there is a situation in the book where 'herbs could be taken at the beginning of a pregnancy', with the goal being to end the pregnancy. This is talked about as a positive thing, but is "too late" to actually be done.

Weekend Plans

I'm feeling energetic this Saturday morning (even though I had hoped to sleep in until 8:00, and the kids got me up at 7:15). Mr. H. is gone hunting until tomorrow, and other than a 10:30 soccer game today, we are left to our own devices. I like weekends like that.

With that in mind, my to do list for this weekend is as follows:

• Clean out the refrigerator/freezer and take stock of leftovers for future meals.
• Do laundry and ironing for next week. (Mr. H.'s work clothes)
• Clean out car and vacuum.
• Clean out garden for replanting.
• Clean out front flower beds and plant bulbs.
• Work on Miss H's sweater (at the soccer game and in the evening)

What are your plans for this fine fall weekend?